Chief executive officers and chief operating officers were the best paid hedge fund employees in 2009, receiving total compensation of over USD1m, according to a survey by Infovest21.
Three positions received total compensation of between USD600,000 and USD999,999: director of sales and marketing, general counsel and chief financial officer.
Twelve positions – director of research, portfolio manager, compliance director, director of operations, senior analyst, assistant portfolio manager, mid-level analyst, junior analyst, director of investor relations, client services, assistant controller and operations/mid-office – had total compensation of between USD100,000 and USD399,999.
Fund accountants had a total compensation below USD100,000.
Impacted by the financial crisis, the trend for compensation in 2009 was mixed compared with last year.
Generally, compensation for management positions was higher but it was lower for most investment positions. Compensation was also lower for financial positions.
In nine positions, the average bonus outweighs the average base salary. In rank order, these are: chief operating office, director of sales and marketing, general counsel, chief financial officer, chief executive officer, junior analyst, portfolio manager, chief risk officer and director of research.
Thirty five per cent of the managers surveyed said they did not change head count. While 35 per cent increased head count another 30 per cent lowered head count.
In 2009, asset flow and fund performance were cited by 47 per cent and 44 per cent respectively as the factors most affecting compensation.
Many variations on the bonus structure are cited. For those positions where the bonus was based on performance, some patterns were noticeable. For example, firm performance was the predominant factor for the majority of positions including chief executive officer, chief operating officer, senior analyst, mid level analyst, director of research, general counsel, compliance director, assistant comptroller and director of operations.
The full report details base salary, bonus and total compensation for 21 executive and back office positions.
